Pre-hispanic Medicinal Plants and their Importance in Present Day Mexico

Mexico is a multi-ethnic and biodiverse country. Two important elements contributed to the development of a rich national herbal medicine. Before the arrival of Spaniards, health problems were solved through the traditional medicine of each ethnic group and their most important material resource, medicinal plants. These practices have prevailed to this day. Through bibliographical search in historical sources of the sixteenth century, such as the De la Cruz-Badiano Codex, the Florentine Codex, the “Natural History of New Spain” by Francisco Hernández, which document the indigenous herbal knowledge of the time, seven medicinal plants whose use and prestige have transcended time, were selected. Chemical-pharmacological information was obtained and analyzed to find out the isolation of active metabolites and confirmation of some biological activities associated with their traditional use.